CN111098820A

CN111098820A - Safety belt retractor

Info

Publication number: CN111098820A
Application number: CN201811398355.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 罗纳德·贾布什
Original assignee: Autoliv Development AB
Current assignee: Autoliv Development AB
Priority date: 2018-10-25
Filing date: 2018-11-22
Publication date: 2020-05-05
Also published as: US20200130641A1; DE102018218293A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a seatbelt retractor (40) comprising: a belt reel (14), a belt (12) which can be wound on the belt reel into a coil, and at least one first component (1) and one second component (2), wherein the first component (1) and the second component (2) are arranged coaxially to one another and at a first angle (a) to a rotational axis (B) of the belt reel (14).

Description

Safety belt retractor

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a seatbelt retractor.

Background

The belt retractor has a load-bearing frame as a basic component and a belt reel, which is rotatably mounted in the frame and on which the belt can be wound. The frame is also intended to be fastened to the seat structure or to the vehicle structure, in addition to supporting the belt reel, and is made for this purpose from a correspondingly thick steel plate which is bent into a U-shaped frame.

Vehicle seats with a seat belt arrangement are known, for example, for use as front seats in cabriolets, wherein at least the seat belt retractor of the seat belt arrangement is fastened to the backrest of the vehicle seat. In this case, the belt retractor is preferably integrated into the backrest of the vehicle seat due to the lack of a load-bearing B pillar and for the reason of contacting the rear seat or for the reason of being remote from the rear vehicle structure, which backrest thereby also has to be designed to absorb the tensile forces acting in the case of restraint. These seatbelt retractors themselves have all the basic components of a standard seatbelt retractor and are only equipped with different additional components, in particular provided for mounting into the backrest, such as self-aligning inertial sensors.

In its basic structure, a vehicle seat has a seat structure made up of a plurality of load-bearing structural parts for fastening the vehicle seat to the vehicle structure. The seat structure is equipped with springs and cushions for improving the seat comfort and also serves for fixing other components, such as different seat adjusting mechanisms, including associated motors and other components, such as heating devices, sensors, displays, headrests and the like.

In modern vehicles with automatic driving systems, increased adjustability of the vehicle seat in different directions and positions is increasingly required, so that the vehicle occupants can utilize the freedom gained by automatic driving, for example for deep communication with other occupants, for prolonged and more frequent rest or also for work and for this purpose can orient the vehicle seat accordingly. This results in: the seat belt arrangement and in particular the seat belt retractor no longer have to be fixed to the vehicle structure as before, but instead have to be fixed to the vehicle seat, as is already the case, for example, in the front seat of a convertible.

However, the problems are that: the belt retractor, with its other components, has a comparatively large installation space requirement due to its external dimensions, so that installation in a vehicle seat can be problematic. This is due in particular to: since the belt has to have a certain minimum thickness for the tension to be absorbed at a predefined width of, for example, 46mm and a certain minimum length for the restraint of the occupant of, for example, 2500mm, the belt reel with the belt coil has a correspondingly large outer diameter in the case of a fully wound belt due to the volume of the belt to be wound. Such a large belt reel is further increased towards the outside by a correspondingly large frame of the belt retractor and by at least one first and second component, a drive device such as an irreversible belt tensioner, a motor of a reversible belt tensioner, a force limiting device, a sensor device or the like, whereby the installation space requirement increases again.

Disclosure of Invention

Against this background, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is: a seatbelt retractor is provided which can also be arranged in a limited installation space of the vehicle.

In order to solve the technical problem, a seatbelt retractor according to the present invention is provided with: the safety belt device comprises a safety belt reel, a safety belt capable of being wound to a coil on the safety belt reel, and at least one first component and a second component.

According to the basic idea of the invention, the following steps are provided: the first and second assemblies are arranged coaxially with each other and at a first angle with respect to the rotational axis of the belt spool.

With the proposed solution, the belt retractor can be constructed in terms of its geometry by the existing angled arrangement of the belt reel with respect to the two components in the vehicle seat or in the vehicle structure free space. The belt retractor can be designed here according to the available free space, in particular at an angle of less than or greater than 90 degrees between the belt reel and the component. The two components are arranged coaxially with one another and in rows and thereby together form a slim and elongated structural unit. The design disadvantage in terms of the costs for achieving an angled connection of the belt reel to the component is thereby rationalized by the possible adaptation of the geometry of the belt retractor to the geometry and layout of the free space provided in the vehicle seat.

The first component can be an electric motor and the second component can be a transmission that transmits the driving rotational movement of the electric motor to the belt reel, which transmission forms a structural unit for reversibly tensioning the belt in a coaxial row arrangement. The transmission mechanism transmits a drive torque of approximately 2Nm to 16Nm during reversible belt tensioning, which is a smaller torque to be transmitted than the drive torque transmitted by other components described further below, such as a force limiting device or an irreversible tensioning device. Thereby, the angled arrangement in the interface forms a particular advantage: since here a smaller torque can be transmitted at an angle, the design expenditure and the costs associated therewith can be reduced.

It is also proposed: a third assembly is provided, which is arranged coaxially and side by side with the belt reel or with the first and second assembly. By means of the third component, the belt retractor can be extended on the side of the belt reel or on the side of the already existing first and second components while maintaining a slim, elongated geometry.

In this case, the third component can preferably be a force limiting device, which can be designed, for example, in a single stage or also in multiple stages.

It is also possible to provide a fourth component which is arranged coaxially with the belt reel or with the first and second component and which, among other functions, expands again while maintaining a slim, elongate geometry.

The fourth component can be, for example, an irreversible belt tensioner.

The narrow and elongated geometry of the belt retractor is further extended in that the third and fourth components are also arranged coaxially to one another and in a row.

The belt reel can also preferably be connected to the first or second component indirectly or directly via a bevel gear or a flexible shaft. The bevel gear mechanism produces a rotational movement for steering by means of which a predetermined angle is fixed. Bevel gear drives are designed in particular for the angles to be achieved and can transmit very high torques with at the same time quiet and low-noise operation by selecting the corresponding transmission types and materials. The use of a flexible shaft has the following advantages: larger distances can also be bridged in the case of more complex angular geometries. Furthermore, the flexible shaft is relatively inexpensive and can be connected very simply at its end to the belt reel or to one of these components.

It is also proposed: a housing with at least two housing parts is provided, and the belt reel and the assembly are arranged in different housing parts. The belt reel and the module are thereby covered towards the outside by housing parts which are specially adapted to these belt reels and modules. In this case, the housing parts can be adapted in particular to the external shape and orientation of the belt reel and the components, wherein the housing parts can additionally also have a stiffening function in the vehicle seat in that they are integrated into the seat structure.

According to a preferred development: the two housing parts are arranged with their longitudinal axes at an angle to one another which corresponds to a first angle of the arrangement of the first and second components relative to the axis of rotation of the belt spool, the belt spool and the components being arranged in the two housing parts. With the proposed design, the housing parts are designed parallel to the longitudinal axis of the coaxial assembly and parallel to the rotational axis of the belt spool. The angle between the belt reel and the assembly is actually depicted between these housing parts.

It is also proposed: the belt reel and the assembly are arranged at a distance from one another and are connected to one another by a flexible shaft, and at least one housing intermediate part is provided between the two housing parts, which connects the housing parts angled to one another. Flexible shafts enable the transmission of rotational motion over a greater distance by selecting a correspondingly long shaft. Thus, these components can be arranged, for example, on one side of the vehicle seat and the belt reel can be arranged on the other side of the vehicle seat. The resulting distance between the two housing parts is bridged by the housing intermediate part, so that the belt retractor as a whole again has a continuous housing.

It is also proposed: in the housing intermediate part, further functional components are arranged which are part of the assembly or of the belt reel. The housing intermediate piece bridges the distance between the two housing parts. The housing intermediate part is therefore not used to accommodate further components and therefore has a free space which, by means of the proposed refinement, is used to accommodate the components or other functional components of the belt reel. Such a functional component can be, for example, a tensioning drive tube of an irreversible tensioning device, an electrical accessory, a sensor device or the like.

It is also proposed: the housing parts are each formed by an elongated U-shaped profile. By the shaping of the housing parts, the components and the belt reel can be covered compactly on three sides, wherein the open fourth side can be closed by an additional cover part. In this case, the housings will, by virtue of their elongate profile shape, be adapted to the slender, elongate design of a belt retractor with coaxially arranged components and a belt reel.

It is also proposed: spacers oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the U-shaped profile are provided in the U-shaped profile, which spacers are connected to the U-shaped profile in a rotationally fixed manner relative to the longitudinal axis of the U-shaped profile. By means of these spacers, the cavity in the U-shaped profile is divided into different sections. Furthermore, these webs can be used to stiffen the profile rail and can also be used to accommodate other functional components. Since the belt reel and the components are oriented with their axis of rotation or longitudinal axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the profile rail, the spacers are also arranged perpendicular to the axis of rotation or longitudinal axis of the belt reel and the components and can thus also serve to absorb the bearing forces and thereby also to support the belt reel and the components on the basis of their perpendicular orientation.

Drawings

In the following, the invention is described according to a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here:

figure 1 shows a seat belt retractor having a flexible shaft and an open and closed housing according to the present invention; and is

Fig. 2 to 5 show a belt retractor according to the invention with a bevel gear in different views; and is

Figure 6 shows a seat belt retractor according to the invention with a flexible shaft without a housing.

Detailed Description

In fig. 1 and 6, a seat belt retractor 40 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention can be seen, which has a seat belt 12 that can be wound on a seat belt spool 14. The seatbelt retractor 40 has a housing 7, the housing 7 comprising two spaced-apart

housing parts

8 and 9 and a housing intermediate part 10 arranged between the

housing parts

8 and 9, the housing intermediate part 10 having been omitted from the illustration in fig. 6 for better identifiability. The

housing parts

8 and 9 and the housing intermediate piece 10 are designed as elongated U-shaped profiles and are arranged such that the two spaced-apart

housing parts

8 and 9 enclose an angle E of less than 180 degrees but more than 90 degrees with respect to each other with their longitudinal axes D and are connected to each other by the housing intermediate piece 10. The open sides of the

housing parts

8 and 9 and of the housing intermediate part 10 are each covered by a cover 13 to form a closed profile, wherein these covers 13 have been omitted in the following illustration for better visibility.

In addition to the belt reel 14, the belt retractor has a first component 1 in the form of an electric motor and a second component 2 in the form of a gear train and a third component 3 in the form of a force limiting device and a fourth component 4 in the form of an explosion-type, irreversible tensioning device. In the

housing parts

8 and 9, a plurality of webs 11 are also provided, which divide the hollow space in the U-shaped profile into sections and which are arranged perpendicular to the longitudinal axis D of the

housing parts

8 and 9 and are supported on the inner walls of the

housing parts

8 and 9 in a form-fitting manner and in a rotationally fixed manner relative to the longitudinal axis D. These spacers 11 serve to support the

assemblies

1, 2, 3 and 4 and the belt reel 14 and also other functional components, such as switching devices, sensor devices, electronic components and circuits, etc., which accommodate the

assemblies

1, 2, 3, 4 and the belt reel 14.

The first and second assemblies 1, 2 are realized by means of an electric motor and a gear mechanism arranged alongside and coaxially to the electric motor, the first and second assemblies 1, 2 being oriented by means of the electric motor with their rotational or longitudinal axis at a first angle a to the rotational axis B of the belt reel 14. The transmission is connected to the belt reel 14 via the flexible shaft 6, through the housing intermediate part 10, via the third component 3 and the fourth component 4 or can be connected by means of an inserted coupling device. The first and second assemblies 1, 2 are arranged coaxially with one another and in rows, so that the belt retractor 40 has an elongated structure in this region. The belt reel 14 is likewise oriented coaxially and in a row with the third component 3 and the fourth component 4, so that the belt retractor 40 also has an elongated structure in this part. The housing intermediate part 10 serves to bridge the distance between the

housing parts

8 and 9 and to connect the

housing parts

8 and 9 to form the continuous housing 7. The free space in the housing intermediate piece 10 is also used here for the arrangement of the tensioner drive pipe 15 of the explosive tensioning device. Of course, the free space in the housing intermediate piece 10 can also be used for arranging other functional components of

different assemblies

1, 2, 3 or 4 in addition to the tensioner drive tube. The housing intermediate part 10 can preferably be designed narrower and smaller in its cross-sectional area perpendicular to the flexible shaft 6 than the cross-sectional area of the

housing parts

8 and 9 measured perpendicular to their longitudinal axis D. The flexible shaft 6 can also be enclosed and/or guided by form-stable guides. Alternatively or additionally, the flexible shaft can also be mounted on an additional journal, which can be realized, for example, in the housing intermediate part 10 or in the edge part of the

housing parts

8 and 9 by means of an additional spacer 11.

By the proposed arrangement of the two assemblies 1 and 2 at the first angle a to the belt reel 14, the belt retractor 40 itself can be adapted to the free space present in the vehicle seat by correspondingly designing the first angle a. Here, the use of the flexible shaft 6 also provides the following advantages: the components 1 and 2 can also be arranged spaced apart from the belt reel 14, as long as the free spaces present in the vehicle seat are arranged spaced apart from one another. The flexible shaft 6 in particular enables an arrangement of the components 1 and 2 at different angles a and at a distance from the belt reel 14, without the design of the components other than the housing 7 having to be changed. The belt retractor 40 can thereby be adapted to the geometry of the free space provided in the vehicle seat in an improved manner. The

housing parts

8 and 9 and the housing intermediate part 10 together with the cover 13 form an elongated housing 7, which housing 7 covers the

components

1, 2, 3 and 4 and the belt reel 14 from the outside and protects the

components

1, 2, 3 and 4 and the belt reel 14 against mechanical shocks. However, the housing 7 can additionally also be used to reinforce a seat structure or other structures and be correspondingly shaped and designed for this purpose. The belt retractor 40 can be arranged, for example, in the upper edge of the seat structure of the backrest by means of the proposed construction, wherein the belt reel 14 is arranged at one end of the belt retractor 40, so that the belt 12 is guided in the mounted position of the belt retractor 40 from a side portion of the upper edge of the backrest over the shoulders to the upper body of a passenger sitting on the vehicle seat.

The angle E between the longitudinal axes D of the

housing parts

8 and 9 corresponds to a first angle a of the longitudinal or rotational axis of the belt reel 14 relative to the first and second components 1 and 2. The first angle a between the assemblies 1 and 2 and the belt reel 14 is in fact repeated between the

housing parts

8 and 9.

Fig. 2 to 5 show an alternative embodiment of the invention, in which the

components

1, 2, 3 and 4 are arranged coaxially to one another and side by side. Between the third component 3, i.e. the force limitation means, and the belt reel 14, a bevel gear transmission 5 is provided, so that the belt reel 14 can be arranged at a first angle a of more than 90 degrees, equal to 90 degrees or less than 90 degrees, for example, relative to the longitudinal or rotational axis of the

components

1, 2, 3 and 4. The

components

1, 2, 3 and 4 thereby form a slender, elongate sub-unit of the belt retractor 40, to which the belt reel 14 is arranged laterally at a first angle a. The belt retractor 40 can thereby preferably be arranged in the vehicle seat in such a way that the

assemblies

1, 2, 3 and 4 are arranged in the structure of the backrest in an approximately perpendicular orientation with respect to the side parts, and the belt reel 14 is arranged on the side part of the upper edge of the backrest. As the bevel gear 5, for example, a bevel gear pair, a worm gear, a connecting rod gear, a helical gear, etc., as shown here, are considered.

In the embodiment of fig. 1, the first and second components, i.e. the motor with the associated gear mechanism, are oriented at an angle to the belt reel 14 and the third and

fourth components

3 and 4, so that the rotational movement of the gear mechanism must be angled to be diverted, which has the following advantages: the torque to be steered is so small at this location that the flexible shaft 6 is sufficient here.

In the embodiment of fig. 2 to 5, only the belt reel 14 is oriented at an angle relative to the

assemblies

1, 2, 3 and 4, or in other words the

assemblies

1, 2, 3 and 4, which are arranged coaxially with one another and in a row, are oriented at an angle relative to the belt reel 14. Thereby, the torque acting between the belt reel 14 and the force limiting device has to be diverted, which is much higher in the case of restraint. For this purpose, a bevel gear 5 is advantageously provided which can withstand higher loads and operates more precisely, in which bevel gear 5 the rotational movement is transmitted by means of toothed sections which mesh with one another or other positive-locking connections in a fixed spatial arrangement.

Since the bevel gear drive presupposes a functionally reliable engagement of the teeth for a functionally reliable operation over a long service life, the bevel gear drive 5 can additionally be enclosed by a separate housing, so that the steering position is additionally concealed relative to the interior of the housing 7.

Claims

1. A seatbelt retractor (40) comprising:

-a belt reel (14),

-a safety belt (12) windable on the belt reel into a coil, and

-at least one first component (1) and a second component (2),

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

-the first assembly (1) and the second assembly (2) are arranged coaxially to each other and at a first angle (a) to the rotation axis (B) of the belt reel (14).

2. The seatbelt retractor (40) according to claim 1,

-the first component (1) is an electric motor and the second component (2) is a transmission mechanism that transmits the driving rotational movement of the electric motor to the belt reel (14).

3. The seatbelt retractor (40) according to claim 1 or 2,

-providing a third assembly (3) arranged coaxially and side by side with the belt reel (14) or with the first assembly (1) and the second assembly (2).

4. The seatbelt retractor (40) according to claim 3,

-said third component (3) is a force limiting device.

5. The seatbelt retractor (40) according to any one of the preceding claims,

-providing a fourth assembly (4) arranged coaxially and side by side with the belt reel (14) or with the first assembly (1) and the second assembly (2).

6. The seatbelt retractor (40) according to claim 5,

-said fourth component (4) is an irreversible belt tensioner.

7. The seatbelt retractor (40) according to claim 3 or 4 and according to claim 5 or 6,

-said third assembly (3) and said fourth assembly (4) are arranged coaxially and side by side with each other.

8. The seatbelt retractor (40) according to any one of the preceding claims,

-the belt reel (14) is connected with the first component (1) or the second component (2) indirectly or directly through a bevel gear (5) or a flexible shaft (6).

9. The seatbelt retractor (40) according to any one of the preceding claims,

-providing a housing (7) having at least two housing parts (8, 9), and

-arranging the belt reel (14) and the components (1, 2, 3, 4) in different housing parts (8, 9).

10. The seatbelt retractor (40) according to claim 9,

-the two housing parts (8, 9) in which the belt reel (14) and the components (1, 2, 3, 4) are arranged with their longitudinal axes (D) at an angle (E) to each other, which angle (E) corresponds to a first angle (a) of the arrangement of the first component (1) and the second component (2) relative to the rotational axis (B) of the belt reel (14).

11. The seatbelt retractor (40) according to claim 8 and according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that,

-the belt reel (14) and the assembly (1, 2, 3, 4) are arranged spaced apart from each other and are connected to each other by the flexible shaft (6), and

-providing at least one housing intermediate piece (10) between the two housing pieces (8, 9), which connects the housing pieces (8, 9) at an angle (E) to each other.

12. The seatbelt retractor (40) according to claim 11,

-in the housing intermediate piece (10) are arranged further functional components belonging to the assembly (1, 2, 3, 4) or the belt reel (14).

13. The seatbelt retractor (40) according to any one of claims 9 to 12,

-the housing parts (8, 9) are each formed by an elongated U-shaped profile.

14. The seatbelt retractor (40) according to claim 13,

a web (11) is arranged in the U-shaped profile and oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (D) of the U-shaped profile, said web being connected to the U-shaped profile in a rotationally fixed manner relative to the longitudinal axis (D) of the U-shaped profile.

15. The seatbelt retractor (40) according to claim 14,

-the assembly (1, 2, 3, 4) and/or the belt reel (14) is supported in at least one of the spacers (11).

16. The seatbelt retractor (40) according to claim 14 or 15,

-in at least one of the webs (11) there is arranged a further functional component belonging to the assembly (1, 2, 3, 4) or to the belt reel (14).